This invention relates to a propellant charge igniter for use in a breech of a weapon, the igniter containing a bottom piece and a head section of an initiator piece with an initiator charge, a flash-conducting tube head leading to a propagation or booster charge surrounded by a combustible tube with blowout bores, as well as a cavity containing a separating charge between the flash-conducting tube and a metallic casing extending below the combustible tube; the cavity extending somewhat past the top edge of the metallic casing and of the bottom piece, so that separation of the combustible tube takes place by gases of the separating charge passing directly above the top edge of the bottom piece.
A partially combustible propellant charge igniter has been known from DE No. 3,502,166 C2. The separating charge is to serve for completely severing a combustible tube encompassing the propagation or booster charge from the bottom piece. The separating charge is initiated by way of one or several bores in the head of the flash-conducting tube by back-flowing combustion gases of the pill column of the propagation charge. Valve disks are disposed in the flash-conducting tube head; these disks flip over upon a pressure rise due to deflagration of the separating charge. With progressive combustion of the separating charge, the pressure increases to such an extent that there finally occurs the desired separation of the combustible tube directly above the top edge of the bottom piece.
Burning of the propagation or booster charge takes place in dependence on the temperature. As a result, it may happen, especially at temperatures of below 0.degree. C., that ignition of the separating charge by back-flowing gas of the propagation charge occurs too early. When firing live ammunition, this can result in disturbances of the ballistics; also, flashbacks can occur in the breech region of the cannon.